Box Office: ‘42’ Could Swing Into Low-$20 Millions

'Scary Movie 5' expected to haunt high teens

Box office should continue its comeback this weekend with a pair of wide releases — Warner Bros.-Legendary Pictures’ “42” and the Weinstein Co.’s “Scary Movie 5″ — sliding into home each with a potential high-teen, low-$20 million domestic opening.

Warner’s Jackie Robinson baseball biopic appears to have the edge, with stronger family appeal; “Scary Movie 5″ has more teen interest, however. Both are rated PG-13.

The horserace for No. 1 is good news for business overall: This time last year saw a similar playing field, boosted by “The Hunger Games” — the only film to gross north of $20 million — in its fourth frame. Fox’s “The Three Stooges” debuted to $17 million, while Lionsgate’s “The Cabin in the Woods” scored almost a $15 million opening.

As for top holdovers this weekend, Fox-DreamWorks Animation’s “The Croods” likely will surpass Paramount’s “G.I. Joe: Retaliation,” both of which should gross in the low-to-mid teens. Meanwhile, expect Sony’s “Evil Dead” remake to fall steeply in its second frame. Pic has tallied $30.7 million in six days.

“Croods” so far has earned more than $128 million domestically; “G.I. Joe” will reach nine figures through Sunday.

The domestic prospects for “42” are boosted by interest from African-Americans and Hispanics. The film, which launches at 3,002 locations, chronicles the life of Robinson, played by Chadwick Boseman, and his signing with the Brooklyn Dodgers. Harrison Ford co-stars as Dodgers’ team executive Branch Rickey.

It’s been seven years since the last “Scary Movie,” which opened this same weekend with $40 million. The newest spoof installment won’t get anywhere near that — perhaps not even cumulatively, since the “Scary Movie” pics generally don’t gross more than twice their openings. The franchise always assembles a motley crew of stars: This installment is no exception, with Charlie Sheen, Ashley Tisdale and Lindsay Lohan, who recently was grilled on “David Letterman” regarding her impending rehab stint.

Shock-horror! America will worship at the cinematic altar of crap once again this weekend by either embracing a biopic that’s been eroded of all necessary political edge, or paying big bucks to watch the fifth instalment of the most intellectually incapacitated comedy franchise known to man. Land of the Brave, indeed.